In the current study, perceptions of low self-efficacy were in evidence among four teachers interviewed at baseline. The literature indicates that helplessness occurs over time and stems from a number of factors including negative role modelling, negative self-talk, and past failures in carrying out a specific behaviour (Hardré & Sullivan, 2009). The four teachers, who were interviewed here, specifically questioned their own competence in classroom management. Additionally, all teachers in this study reported feeling helpless at times, having tried and failed on many occasions to manage the behaviour of disruptive children. Comparable findings were reported in a US study by Yarrow (2009), where 40% of teachers (n = 890) were disheartened, with three-quarters of these teachers citing student misbehaviour as a major problem. Despite being acutely aware of their futility, teachers in the
current study continued to engage in the same ineffective strategies. Likewise, Barbetta et al. (2005) reported that teachers can rigidly adhere to ineffective management strategies rather than trying new methods. Furthermore, the continued engagement with strategies known to be ineffective has been found to be predictive of emotional exhaustion (Schwarzer & Hallum, 2008), one of the key features of burnout (Leiter & Maslach, 1998).
In the current study, teachers often dealt in parallel with children who had multiple learning and socialisation challenges. Incidences of low-level problem behaviours, along with occasional but highly disruptive physical aggression from some pupils, were seen to have a negative effect on teachers’ psychological health. This was particularly the case when demands were perceived as exceeding available resources (e.g., the level of colleague support provided). Thus, seven teachers reported a negative psychological impact of chronic and difficult classroom behaviour; this often took the form of frustration, losing patience with the children, becoming short- tempered with the non-disruptive children in the classroom, and difficulty in maintaining a positive attitude. Indeed, there was intense emotion behind the words used by certain participants in relation to this subtheme and terms such as ‘worn’, ‘weathered’, and ‘helpless’ denoted a general loss of hope and resignation.
“You feel like pulling your hair out. You’re like, there’s nothing I can say, he just won’t respond to anything at all! Good or bad, it makes no difference.” (T21)
“Some days I went home and just cried, because I was just so exhausted and frustrated with the situation. Because, you know, I could see it in the other children, and I could see it in the other parents as well.” (T10) “When I’m disciplining, sometimes I feel helpless because you might start with your hand up, or making eye contact, or praising. But as long as you’re talking, then they’re talking. And you sit there in silence. I’ve sat there five, ten minutes, and it doesn’t work” (T8)
“These days I’m weathered from it. And it’s something different every day. I’m weathered from it. And I know when it starts I’m not going to get anywhere with him.” (T9)
Likewise, Annhorn (2008, p. 15) reported that the teachers in their qualitative study (n = 6) felt “overwhelmed, hectic, isolated, beaten down, unsupported, scared, humiliated, afraid, stressed, and drowning” when dealing with pupils with SEBD. Interestingly, principals in the current study noted a similarly negative impact on their own well-being. Just as teachers can struggle with disciplinary issues, so too can their managers. For example, recent research has shown that 70% of school principals experience occupational stress, with the number of students with SEBD in a school positively correlated with the level of stress experienced (Darmody & Smyth, 2011). Principals in the current study (see below) reported an additional burden of responsibility placed upon them by their staff and parents.
“I was expected to bark, be angry, and give out. I remember thinking ‘This is incredible. Now I’ve to get in a tough mood’ and it didn’t sit well on me, and I wasn’t particularly good at it. I was very much struggling in the beginning, and I’d have parents ringing in and coming in complaining about other children. And that compounded my feeling of just helplessness. You know, maybe I’m not the person that can do this job.” (P6)
“A lot of teachers would like me to be stricter, you know? But it’s kind of hard to balance. That’s just not my personality anyway. I can’t become Mr Angry overnight, or Mr Strict overnight, and that’s just the way. That can be, that’s the most challenging part I suppose.” (P5)
The helplessness felt by some teachers in the current study, led, in turn, to a sense of hopelessness regarding the future of children with SEBD. Three teachers reported a belief that some of the current child behaviours that they were witnessing were likely to impact negatively on the child into the future. Indeed, as indicated earlier, there is a large body of literature to show the long-term negative outcomes of SEBD, if left unchecked (e.g., Bossaert et al., 2011; McCrystal et al., 2007a; Skinner et al., 2009), including disengagement from school and low levels of educational attainment. Thus, even at the earliest stage of education (in infant classes), teachers reported being able to identify children whom they believed will struggle through school. Unfortunately, the more experienced teachers in the current study, particularly those
who have several years of experience in one school, noted that they witnessed many children with early-onset conduct problems who deteriorated socially over time. They identified patterns of behaviour among infant class children which, if left unaddressed, could severely limit future life outcomes.
“We’re not really making a whole pile of progress. Even since last year. You know it’s just like, it’s hard and you think ‘is he going to get worse as he gets older?”. (T11)